Project Rameka

Track opening pictures

2011-12-12T21:17:00.000-08:00

11 December 2011

Awesome opening to the Rameka Six-Pack! 25 people to dig the tracks, 50 people for speeches and a sausage sizzle and hundreds of people riding the tracks over the weekend.

They really are riding well now, and with 16 km to ride, everyone was happy. Here are some pics.

Karyn and Bronnie were our crash test dummies.

Lots of happy track workers made fast work of reshaping this switchback on Great Expectations.

The Pack Track is largely on the original Rameka Track. It connects the Rameka Track and Project Rameka.

Great Expectations meets Marie's expectations.

A happy crowd celebrates the opening of the Rameka Six-Pack.

Big thanks to Ricky Ward - track designer and builder.

Martin and friends pass the guardian of the Tomo! Beware!

Track opening this Sunday!

2011-12-05T23:46:00.000-08:00

The "Rameka Six Pack" in Golden Bay is being officially opened this Sunday. Everyone is welcome to help polish the tracks off between 10am and 12 noon. Meet us at the top entrance to Project Rameka (Rameka Creek Road, 10 km from Takaka).

At 12 noon there will be a relaxed BYO BBQ, followed by a ride of all 6 tracks... or just a couple if you prefer.

The Rameka Six Pack comprises six different tracks, including the Rameka Track, the Pack Track (new) and Great Expectations (new section just finished). The total length is 15.5 km.

This includes the second part to Great Expectations, which has been built over the last two years over some very difficult terrain, and through vicious barberry. A big thanks to Ricky Ward for the design work, and to Martin Langley (Quiet Revolution Cycle Shop) for organising dozens of working bees - not to mention over a hundred other volunteers. The result is absolutely fantastic!

Tree Planting at Rameka

2011-11-22T17:11:00.000-08:00

August 2011

What a week! Thanks to the tree planting efforts of Motupipi Primary School, lead by Seamus and Bronnie and Ricky, we managed to get all 600 trees planted. There was also a fine effort put in by a cool bunch of local in the weekend, who were well fed by Fill and Albie's amazing vegetable soup and home made bread.

Seamus is getting a head start!

Tree planting on either side of Great Expectations.

There was also quite a bit of bridge building activity going on. The last, and longest boardwalk was completed, so that Great Expectations is now fully rideable down to Rameka Creek. Awesome job.

Simon the bridge builder, hard at work.

There will be an official opening of Great Expectations, plus the Pack Track which links it to the old Rameka Track on 11th December.

See you there.

News Flash! Great Expectations is NOT closed

2011-05-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

Some renegade trail bikers have been testing out the sweet lines on Great Expectations. In an effort to deter them, waratah barriers have been put up at the top entrance to the track (just before the cattle stop) and at the midway exit to the road. Unfortunately, the barriers seem to be deterring mountain bikers as well. They are hard to get around, it's true, but you can squeeze a mountain bike past them. We'll try and amend the situation soon so that bicyclists and push chair pushers can get through and onto the track a bit easier, but until we've sorted it out, don't be put off. The track is not closed.

2011 Busting through Great Expectations

2011-05-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday 28 May dawned fine and still. The perfect day to push Great Expectations through to the stream and the Mill site on the other side. And what a turn-out to make it happen!

Ricky Ward cracked the ... chainsaw? ... to keep us all hard at work.

But could he really keep an eye on 31 of us?

Yup, possibly the most impressive turn-out since opening day, and a heck of a lot of work got done. Awesome efforts from everyone (there are too many to name in person without the serious possibility of leaving someone off the list). There are still a few bridges to come in (and thanks also to those people who have started working on those bridges). Now it's time to ride and tweak and ride and titivate and ultimately ride!

The next major work party will take place in August, and that will focus on repairing winter damage and tired sections of the track in preparation for some fun summer flow.

A Special Trip to Rameka

2011-05-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

Friday 20 May, and Jonathan and Bronnie started the trek down to Rameka ... this time with a wee twist - coming to it from the west and the Heaphy Track. Yup, the sirens were calling, and the lure was too great to resist. They hooked up with Andrew McLellan for the ferry trip across to Picton,

then hitched a ride through to Karamea on a vehicle-relocation deal with Martin Langley, John Michelle, and Andy Cole. Hundreds of cyclists made the most of the newly-opened-to-bikes-over-winter status of the Heaphy to whiz through and back again, but this group took things at a more leisurely pace, spending two nights on the track and taking in the full glory of the area ...

AND, in case there is anyone in the world left who hasn't yet heard, the buzz of the trip for Jonathan and Bronnie? Snails, sun, the best-ever beech forest riding be damned ... that's nothing compared with close encounters with kiwi!! Sleeping in the open-sided wood shed rather than the huts will do that.

So? Next time you're thinking of heading to Project Rameka, we recommend, cycling across via Canaan Downs and the Rameka, then complete the loop by riding out to Collingwood and on to the Heaphy, through to Karamea ... and onwards to the West Coast. It will be an unforgettable trip, we guarantee it!

AGM and special work party

2011-05-10T01:43:00.000-07:00

Project Rameka Chair’s Report
May 2011

Because of your valuable volunteer work and donations and membership fees, Project Rameka has continued to achieve its forest restoration and recreation goals. The trees are flourishing, tracks are being walked and ridden and soon a major new section of track will be open. This is all the result of your support.

The following report briefly summarises the achievements of the last year.

Tracks
Project Rameka has unexpectedly become a strong hub of track building activity over the last year, with the Department of Conservation and the Golden Bay Mountain Bike Club focusing on Canaan Downs and a new section of the historic Rameka Trail above Project Rameka, and a new single track beside Rameka Creek being built below the project. We have decided to link Great Expectations to this lower track at what is known as the Mill Site – a grassy clearing beside the road, near the Rameka Creek ford.

There have been many volunteers working on Great Expectations over summer. Ricky Ward has been designing the trail and Martin Langley has led dozens of work parties. On behalf of everyone who will ride the track, I’d like to thank these two stalwarts, and all those who have joined them over the last twelve months. Great Expectations is nearing the creek and has been built to a very high standard. To complete this section of track there will be three special Saturday work parties, the first being on the 28th May.

SPECIAL work party notice. Please meet at the old Mill Site clearing at 10am on Sat morning after the AGM (28 May). Tools and chocolate will be supplied, and there will be a whole range of jobs from pruning vegetation, to digging the track, and building a ford crossing. We will have a BBQ at the Mill Site and then do another two hours in the afternoon. I will be leading this work party in partnership with Ricky Ward.

We will have another two Saturday morning work parties before officially opening the track in October 2011.

Future plans include maintaining Great Expectations, extending it up to the top corner boundary to meet the original Rameka Trail, which is being reopened, and building an advanced level track (The Odyssey) to make a loop ride possible.

Maintenance will be a big issue on the tracks, both in terms of removing ruts as they develop, and also cutting back vegetation that encroaches on the track. Most of the vegetation control over the last year has been done by the very efficient Matt Shoult who is paid a minimal wage from your donations. Thank you.

Various volunteers have also been removing ruts and clearing fallen pine trees and widening some of the existing track. This crucial work is much appreciated.

Visitors to Project Rameka have commented on the usefulness of the new signboards and maps. Many thanks to Chloe Langley for the design and Nikki Ryan (Harcourts) for funding the materials.

Thanks should also go to the Pub Charities for their generous grant, which has paid for $1000 of new tools (bought locally).

Pest Control
Once again Matt Shoult has done an outstanding job of hammering pest animals and plants. Without this work the restoration of the forest would be held back by introduced animals that eat plants, and kill birds.

This year, we have been using Pestoff possum bait (Brodificoum, which is an anticoagulant), and it has been very effective. Matt believes the possum numbers have been lower than ever. This poison also kills rats.

Pigs have been an ongoing problem and will require further hunting. They damage both trees and tracks.

Stoats also need to be controlled, and to make this easier Andrew McLellan and I will soon be reconfiguring the stoat trapping line to make checking them one continuous and enjoyable walk (or ride if you are really keen). Would you like to adopt this new stoat line? If so, please contact me at the AGM.

A big thanks to those from Golden Bay, Nelson and Wellington who have weeded the 2000+ seedlings on Project Rameka. This job has become much easier now that we are using tree guards, but it is still very important work. Many of the trees planted in 2009 and 2010 are now over 1 metre high and won’t need further weeding, but of course we will plant more trees this winter.

Matt Shoult has also dealt to a number of highly invasive weeds such as banana passionfruit and old man’s beard. Please keep an eye out for these weeds and let us know if you spot them.

Climate Change and the Trust
The foundation concept for Project Rameka was to set up a forest carbon sink. It is the most effective way of fighting climate change that Bronnie Wall and I can think of. Until scientific leaders withdraw their warnings about climate change we will continue supporting ways to reduce atmospheric CO2.

The property is now registered as a Permanent Forest Sink Initiative (PFSI), run by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MaF). This scheme provides the Rameka Trust with funds for rates and other property related expenses.

The amount of CO2 sequestered from the atmosphere by Project Rameka is around 500 tonnes per annum. However, there is also pollution associated with the project that we would like to keep to a minimum, by encouraging people to:

· travel by land to the project, rather than flying to Nelson or Takaka,
· cycle or walk up Rameka Creek Road rather than shuttling,
· purchase local goods from local businesses wherever possible.

Native Forest Restoration
600 trees were planted last winter (August 2010) and these had plant guards put around them. The result is an exceptional survival rate (over 95%).

Volunteers from Wellington and Golden Bay were joined by students from Golden Bay High School and Motupipi Primary School. This made the tree planting experience both frantic and fun.

For donations contributing to purchase of trees, we would like to thank Dean Waters of the Balance of Life Trust (BOLT).

Also, special thanks to Fill and Albie Burgers who organised a work party to pot up 500 totara seedlings collected from bush on their property, and to Sollys for gifting the potting mix needed. These healthy seedlings will be planted out in August.

· As always, we are looking for donations of flax and other native plants to be dug out of people’s backyards.

We will also be purchasing plants from local nurseries this winter, the cost of which will be covered by the Rameka Trust.

Volunteer Accommodation
The Lorax Lair has continued to be used by Project Rameka members as a base for volunteer work and for that reason there have been a few improvements made in the last year, including:
· building a lean-too shelter for storing bikes etc
· installing a kitchen sink and cupboards (thanks Ricky Ward, Martin Langley and John Michell)
· building a wood shed
· installing a new water tank.
If you would like to use the Lorax Lair, please contact Martin, Andrew or myself for a gate and hut key. There is no charge, as long as you intend doing a few hours work on the project.
Committee
I would like to thank everyone on the committee, especially those with two crucial roles. Marie Langley has again been a super secretary, and the committee has appreciated her ability to keep moving things along smoothly. Likewise, Seamus Ryan has been invaluable in keeping the Project Rameka books straight. Every donation and membership fee has been used with the utmost care and consideration.

Also, a special thanks to out-going committee member Patrick Ward. Patrick has not only contributed a huge amount to the track building effort, he has also mustered a group of tree planters from Golden Bay High School for the previous two years, and he has a wicked sense of humour. I wish him all the best with his future in Christchurch.

To everyone who has been involved in whatever form, on behalf of Project Rameka, I thank you and hope to see you on the project soon: Saturday the 28th would be good J.

Other Special News
Last year Project Rameka featured as a case study in a book I co-authored with Paul Kennett, Simon Johnson and Tom Bennion called The Carbon Forest. It is a guidebook for those wishing to set up carbon sinks, and explains recent legislation enacted to incentivise forest restoration in New Zealand.

Perhaps the best news of the year was the purchase by Phil Castle and Beth Burdett of a 50 hectare block of land near Motupipi. Phil and Beth’s primary goals are also forest restoration and recreation. They have been great supporters of Project Rameka, and I have become one of their trustees to help them realise their dream.

Once again, thanks for your support. We are looking forward to another brilliant year at Project Rameka.

Jonathan Kennett
Project Rameka Incorporated Chair

Christmas buzz at Rameka

2010-12-27T15:11:00.000-08:00

In a desperate attempt to escape the horror of Wellington at Christmas time, Jonathan and Bronnie headed for Project Rameka. Talk about swinging from one extreme to the other! Rameka was the quietest we have ever seen it - just what we needed after a very busy year.

Apart from sleeping, reading and soaking in the 'panorama bath', we did make a few improvements to the project.

Here is Bronnie checking out one of the new notice boards, which Martin installed and we helped finish off. We are about to head down Kahikatea Gully to weed all the trees there. It needed doing, but was actually quite easy this time as Murray, Ginny, Matt and Jonathan has weeded them only a month ago. The trees are looking great, especially the Rimu!

And here is a particularly fine photo of Brent Hartshorne taking measurements on the Odessy. Progress is slow on this track, as the main efforts are being put into extending Great Expectations. Also, Brent has been busy working on opening several hundred metres of the historic Rameka Trail above Project Rameka, AND on building a NEW trail beside Rameka Creek. It's all go in the Rameka Valley!

However, while new tracks have been built, the first section of Great Expectations has become a bit overgrown and rutted in places, so Bronnie and Jonathan gave the roughest sections some TLC.

The biggest Christmas buzz though was the purchase of another 48 hectare property for restoration and recreation purposes in Golden Bay. Phil Castle and Beth Burdett popped the champagne on their exciting new project just before Christmas. It's been a difficult purchase, but one well worth it as the property on Motupipi Hill (between Takaka and Pohara) has significant biodiversity potential, and there are already several existing tracks, so providing walking and cycling opportunities will be straight forward. Phil and Beth have set up a trust, and Jonathan is honoured to be one of the trustees. No doubt we will hear more about Motupipi Hill in the New Year!

Carbon Sink book launched!

2010-12-12T19:28:00.000-08:00

Last Monday a guide book to forest carbon sinks called The Carbon Forest was launched in Wellington. Rod Oram was the key speaker, and explained brilliantly how forests are important for sustainable land use (ie, preventing top soil loss) and New Zealand's Kyoto obligations. Rod described The Carbon Forest book as "An 'owner's manual' that will prove invaluable for people who want to use forestry to improve the economic and environmental performance of their land."

Simon Johnson, Paul Kennett, Jonathan Kennett, Rod Oram, and Tom Bennion.

The idea for the book came from Paul Kennett, who, after reducing his annual carbon footprint to one tonne, was then looking at ways of offsetting the rest. Forest carbon sinks appealed, and so he started researching the possibilities. Jonathan Kennett and Simon Johnson, from Project Rameka, are both co-authors, along with environmental lawyer Tom Bennion.

Project Rameka is among several case studies that are used to show the broad range of carbon sinks in New Zealand.

The book can be purchased for $30 from www.kennett.co.nz or from independent book stores.

Tree Planting at Project Rameka, 2010

2010-10-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

Tree planting at the Project

In August 2010 there were 600 native seedlings safely put into the ground at Project Rameka. The main aim was to add biodiversity by planting some species that aren't there anymore (ie, Kahikatea) and to plant the track sides so that eventually the native trees will shade out prickly gorse and barberry.

As in 2009, the Motupipi Primary School and Golden Bay High School came along an made it a fun day.

Patrick Ward and friends made fast work of planting 200 trees. Good on you!

And we also managed to fit in a bit of track work, including building a bridge with Ricky Ward on the lower section of Great Expectations. Martin Langley and Ricky and many other volunteers have made great work of extending this track so that there will be another section open for walking and cycling this summer.

On this trip Bronnie and Jonathan decided to cycle up the Rameka Track and out to Nelson via Canaan Downs. It was a lovely ride, but we started to run out of time and had to bust-a-gut to get to the shuttle by 3pm. Just need to be a bit fitter next time!

Newsflash! Time to Get Down and Get Dirty

2010-08-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

That's right. Planting season is upon us at Project Rameka. For anyone who wants to feel connection with the dirty in a soothing, less abrupt way than falling off your bike, now's the chance to do so - feel free to join us for any of the sessions listed below.
Tree planting will be happening on the Project during the week of 16 to 22 August. We kick off with a planting session with the young-uns from Motupipi School (thanks Seamus for organising that) and seniors from Golden Bay High School (and likewise to you Pat too) on Friday 20 August and follow this up with more planting on Saturday 21 in the morning and a bit of track work on Great Expectations in the afternoon. If the weather is bad on the Friday, we'll be expecting to plant a bit harder on the Saturday.
All sessions will have a 10 am start time.
Anyone with queries is welcome to phone Jonathan on 027 284 5599, but otherwise, we hope you can join us at some stage. There will be a barbeque at the Project on the Saturday at lunchtime.
Thanks also go to Matt Shoult for preparing the areas to be planted.

Crazy May

2010-06-02T22:31:00.000-07:00

This May Bronnie and Jonathan cycled over to Takaka for a varied week at, and around, the Project. They rode via the Maungatapu Track, Richmond, Moutere Valley, Takaka Hill and East Takaka.

Jonathan and Bronnie, just about to descend into the mists of Golden Bay.

The first real work was helping Phil Castle and others to gravel part of the new Takaka Cycleway. Phil and Woulter have been working on this for years now, and their motto is clearly 'Quality not Quantity'. Their long term plan is to have a grade 1 cycleway running parallel to the Takaka River for many kilometres.

Jonathan, Phil Castle, Stuart, Woulter and other keen diggers at the Takaka Cycleway.

The following day Martin and Marie Langley, Chloe and Reuben, Simon Johnson and Bronnie and Jonathan had a great work party where we checked over 1000 of the trees planted last year. They are looking pretty good, with over 90% surviving so far. They still have to get through winter though.

Chloe and Reuben heading off for a couple of laps of Great Expectations, after helping weed last years planted trees.

Over the next few days Jonathan, Bronnie and Simon built a lean-too shelter, fenced off the lower farm track and extended the Historic Rameka Trail to the start of the Odyssey. We only did a very narrow cut and will widen it out next time we are there (August for tree planting).

Bronnie having a ball on the Historic Rameka Trail.

The final day was set aside for the AGM, a low key, highly efficient meeting, where much chocolate cake was eaten. The Chairs report is below.

Project Rameka Chair’s Report
27 April 2010

What a brilliant year for Project Rameka! In the last 12 months we have planted 1250 trees, opened a new track and killed countless furry animals. The forest is flourishing and the project is being appreciated by hoards of visitors. This is only possible because of the volunteer work and donations of it’s members. Thank you for your support.

This report briefly summarises the achievements of the last year. For more details, you can check out http://projectrameka.carbonsink.org.nz/

Tracks
The top 2.3 km of Great Expectations was opened on 22 November 2009, and has been greatly enjoyed by hundreds of riders. A big thanks to everyone who carved this track out of the hillside, especially Ricky and Patrick Ward, who did most of the trail blazing and Martin Langley, who led dozens of work parties. Since November, the track has been improved in many places, and Ricky has begun design on the lower section.

Maintenance will be a big issue on the track for the next few years, until the trees grow up and shade out weeds. I’d like to acknowledge the work Matt Shoult has done to control the weeks on the sides of Great Expectations and the road.

Most visitors at Project Rameka are passing through for the first time, so it is very helpful to have signposts at all the intersections. Many thanks to Marie Langley for the funky signs. Soon we hope to have a notice board at the top of Great Expectations, designed by Chloe Langley, and paid for by Nikki Ryan from Harcourts.

Under the leadership of Brent Hartshorne, work has also started on a second track called The Odyssey. As the name indicates, it will provide experienced riders with a challenge, as well as opening up part of Project Rameka for pest control.
Pest Control
Once again Matt Shoult has done an outstanding job of hammering pest animals and plants. Without this work the restoration of the forest would be held back by introduced animals that eat plants, and kill birds, which perform pollination and seed transporting services. The rough tally for the last year is:

32 Pigs shot (GOOD SHOW!)
36 Stoats trapped (TERRIBLY HIGH NUMBER!)
17 Rats trapped (LOTS MORE POISONED AS WELL)

An untold number of rats and possums have been poisoned with feretox. This feretox poisoning is important, because if the number of rats is kept low then stoats are less likely to be attracted to Project Rameka. Also, rats eat not only birds, but also hoover up masses of native seeds.

The high number of pigs shot is of concern. It may be time to consider a pig trap, smack bang in the middle of their HIGHWAY GULLY.

Highest performing trap kill was by Andrew McLellan – two stoats in one trap!

Also, thanks to those that hand weeded the 1500 seedlings on Project Rameka, especially Bronnie Wall, Simon Johnson, Marie Langley and my good self. This job was made much easier by the 1000 tree guards generously paid for by Simon Kennett and Sarah Drake. As one DOC officer in Takaka exclaims, Tree guards have revolutionised forest restoration in Golden Bay.

Matt has also dealt to a number of highly invasive weeds such as banana passionfruit and old man’s beard. I would encourage everyone to keep an eye out for these terrible weeds.

Climate Change and the Trust
The foundation for Project Rameka is it’s role as a forest carbon sink. It is the most effective way of fighting climate change that Bronnie and Jonathan could think of.

Late 2009, most of the property was entered into the Permenant Forest Sink Initiative (PFSI), run by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MaF). This work was done by Trustee Simon Johnson. As part of our contract with MaF, the forest (this includes any trees with potential to grow over 5 metres tall) is now legally protected.

This scheme should provide the Rameka Trust with funds for rates and other property related expenses.

The amount of CO2 sequestered from the atmosphere by Project Rameka is around 500 tonnes per annum. Although this is great news, there is also pollution associated with the project that we would like kept to a minimum, by encouraging people to:

· Travel by land to the project, rather than flying to Nelson or Takaka,
· Cycle up Rameka Creek Road or Great Expectations rather than shuttling,
· Purchase local goods from local businesses wherever possible.
Native Forest Restoration
1250 trees were planted last winter (August 2009) and most of these had plant guards put around them. The result is an exceptional survival rate (around 96%).

Volunteers from Wellington and Golden Bay were joined by students from Golden Bay High School and Motupipi Primary School. This made the tree planting experience both frantic and fun. We hope to do the same again this August.

For donations contributing to the restoration of native forest, we would like to thank Rose Wall, Ginny Wood, Rameka Trust, Rob Lewis from The Landscape Company, and Tim from Titoki Nursary. Also Phil Castle who turned up out of the blue with 50 flax he had dug out of his backyard, and stayed to see them all planted. And Karyn Burgess from Masterton, who spent her birthday planting trees at Rameka.

Also, special thanks must go to Fill and Albie Burgers for once again fortifying tree planting troops with their wonderful homemade bread and soup. Yum!

· We are again looking for donations of flax to be dug out of people’s backyards.

Volunteer Accommodation
The Lorax Lair has continued to be used by Project Rameka members as a base for volunteer work. The water supply can be problematic, but now we have two tanks and there is always enough to cook and wash dishes with at the very least.

A big thanks to John Michel for donating a toilet, and Andy Cole and his friends, who installed it, and Simon, Bronnie and Patrick in particular for digging the pit (estimated to be good for 3000 dumps!). Also Jo and Andrew painted it, and Simon and Sarah paid for materials. Gosh! What a lot of interest in such a small, yet popular, building.

Committee
I would like to thank everyone on the committee, especially those with two crucial roles. Marie Langley has been a fantastic secretary, and the committee has appreciated her efforts in moving things along smoothly (especially with the Charities Commission!). Likewise, Seamus Ryan has been invaluable in keeping Project Rameka on the financial straight and narrow. Every donation and membership fee has been used with the utmost care and consideration.

To everyone who has been involved in whatever form, on behalf of Project Rameka, I thank you and hope to see you on the project soon.

Jonathan Kennett
Project Rameka Incorporated Chair

March Updates

2010-04-15T01:50:00.001-07:00

13 to 21 March

Yet another busy week at Project Rameka ...

had Bronnie, Jonathan and Simon on their knees, weeding over 1,000 trees. Plant survival is incredible, with no small thanks to Marie and Matt for timely releasing over spring and summer:

keeping in touch with some Aussie overstayers ...

while Brent, Martin, Bronnie, Simon J, Andrew, Rob, Ryan, and Brett made in-roads on the Odessy (soon followed by Jo and Simon K, not to mention the man behind the camera, Jonathan):

and Simon biffed some gorse (highly recommended for caber-tossing training):

But let's not forget the fun stuff. Great Expectations is living up to its name with locals and visitors alike buffing up the track nicely. And work continues! Next summer could well see the track heading further down-valley. Watch this space.

The McLellan/Mackenzie tribe stayed a further week on the Project and painted the toilet (thanks Jake and Morag) as well as trapping a number of possums, stoats and rats.

The latest innovation from DOC, causing excitement in pest control circles, two Henry traps are now being trialled on the project. These suckers aim to kill rats, stoats and weasels and reset themselves in an instant. The jury is out but we'll keep you posted on how they go.

New website address

2010-02-24T15:13:00.001-08:00

Hi folks,

For some crazy techno reason we have had to change our website address. It is now:

http://projectrameka.carbonsink.org.nz/

The old one will redirect to this one, so it's no big hassle.

Cheers
Jonathan

Kids Bike Wise Ride

2010-02-08T21:01:00.000-08:00

KIDS AND CARERS MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE AT PROJECT RAMEKA.

WHEN? Sunday 14th Feb

WHERE? Meet at 10am at start of Rameka Creek gorge by the big totara tree, to sort transport up to Project Rameka. Those who are capable of biking up from there are encouraged to do so; otherwise, car-pooling will reduce the number of vehicles driving up. The road is narrow and parking at the Project Rameka entrance is limited.

WHAT? The ride will start on the Historic Rameka Track which begins just inside the main Project Rameka entrance and then connects to Great Expectations, the first main track being built at Project Rameka. The track is currently about 2.5km long and connects to the road again, about half-way down to the ford. Riders can then ride the track back the same way or ride/push bikes up the road back to the Project Rameka main entrance. Some people may wish to repeat the circuit. At the official opening of Great Expectations in November, one 6yr old boy did the circuit twice (with dad running along behind) and a 10yr old did it 4 times!

HOW? Mountain bikes with fatter tyres and some gears are the best option for riding. If you just want to come and walk the track to check it out first, that’s fine too.

WHO? The ride is probably more suitable to kids 10yrs and older, but younger kids have ridden it, as mentioned above. All kids must have an adult carer with them (e.g. a parent) who is responsible for safety and behaviour. Riders/walkers/runners use the track at their own risk. There are some quite steep drop-offs at the side of the track in places so care is needed. The track itself is suitable for most riders and has been well-used by many people over the summer. Time for more locals to enjoy it as well!

AND there will be a BBQ to follow, at approx 1pm, sponsored by Nikki Ryan from Harcourts Golden Bay.

For more info, contact THE QUIET REVOLUTION CYCLE SHOP

In Time for Christmas Fun

2009-12-22T16:44:00.001-08:00

Richard heaves another load of gravel to tidy up the muddy bits and ...

Jack rakes it out so that everyone can enjoy a dab-free ride!

People are getting ready for their Christmas trip away, and what trip is complete with mountain bike in tow!
We've been fielding a few questions about where the new track is and what's open for public consumption, so here's a bit of a low-down.
Great Expectations is open for all to use and enjoy - it's a two-way track, so if you're getting into the zone and swooping along down, just be prepared to drop the speed a little on the blind corners and give a yodel or two to announce your imminent arrival ... but you all know the drill, right?
It is a fantastic extension to the Rameka Track. You'll head out from the forest of the Rameka Track and follow the gravel road down a short distance before following the Project Rameka sign up a small rise to your left. Then its through the cattle stop and Bob's your uncle, you are on it!
If you enjoy it so much that you want to try it again, feel free!
If you get really hooked, pop in to The Quiet Revolution Cycle Shop in Takaka and talk to the goodly folk there about how you can help work off some festive food by joining a Project Rameka work party or contribute in other ways to the project.
What ever the case, enjoy - just make sure you leave it in good enough condition for others to enjoy, too.

Great Expectations Scrapbook

2009-12-13T19:58:00.000-08:00

Here's a wee bit of a visual overview of Great Expectations for those of you who haven't yet had the luck to try it out.
Guy Robertson runs his dad Mike through his paces along the track - at the age of five, we think that's not bad going. Way to go Guy ... way to go Mike!

Beth leads a bunch of wobbly walkers (Corina, Albie, Fil, Simon, Bronnie, Marie)

The Murray family starting out:

Ricky Ward - more than happy to have finished with opening speeches and to be getting on with the business of riding:

Comment on Nelson Mail article

2009-12-03T21:46:00.000-08:00

Comment on Nelson Mail article
By Jonathan Kennett

Earlier this week the Nelson Mail printed an article about Project Rameka that was titled “Tree planters slate farmers”. This was completely incorrect, and the journalist, Hayley Gale has since phoned up and apologised. We can only presume that the Editor or sub-editor of the Nelson Mail felt it would generate more sales to have a sensationalist, although incorrect heading, than a true one. Newspapers probably do this all the time.

To set the record straight, I’ve decided to expand on the contents of Hayley Gale’s article here, because those contents were essentially correct, even if the title wasn’t.

We did not slate farmers. Quite the opposite. We pointed out that the farmers around Project Rameka have been supportive. I would like to give a few solid examples.

Dave Edmondson: We bought the project land off Dave. He has been very good at removing stray stock from Project Rameka.

Robert and Myra Fulton: In 2008, Robert and Myra supported the project by buying native trees, and allowing us to dig Totara seedlings from their garden. They have never failed to be welcoming to us and Myra has spent a lot of time writing up the history of the Rameka Valley, which she dearly loves.

Ricky Page: When Gary has call to run stock up the Ramaka Road, he does it as fast as possible so that the cattle don’t stray off the road, and chomp our trees.

Fill and Albie Burgess: The list of help and the amount of friendship from these two farmers is great indeed. Planting trees, providing wholesome food at work parties, cheerful conversation and a welcome bed for the night during storms. Fill and Albie also have 50 ha of regenerating forest at the back of their farm.

You might understand now that Simon Johnson, Bronnie Wall and myself were far from impressed when we saw the title saying we slated farmers.

However, to perfectly clear, we did slate the advocacy organisation Federated Farmers and in particular its leader Don Nicholson. The following quotes will explain why.

Federated Farmers of New Zealand Submission
“Farmer opposition to government efforts on climate change policy has been consistent over the years.”
3.2.1. SUBMISSION TO FINANCE & EXPENDITURE SELECT COMMITTEE ON: CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSE (MODERATED EMISSIONS TRADING) AMENDMENT BILL 13 October 2009

And another quote, this time from their website.

“Federated Farmers opposed the government's 2002 ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and remains opposed to it.

Federated Farmers opposes the inclusion of agriculture in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme.”
Fedrated Farmers website http://www.fedfarm.org.nz/n40.html (uploaded Dec 2009)

It is clear that Federated Farmers – the organisation – has been opposed to any practical moves to tackle climate change by reducing emissions. Don Nicholson has said that it is not worth trying to reduce emissions because population growth makes this impossible. This is completely counter to the advice coming from every reputable scientific organisation in the world. That advice is, that we reduce emissions urgently.

However, it is also clear that there are individual farmers who chose to make their own minds up. And many, whether it is for climate change reasons or not, are taking actions that are good for the environment they are leaving for their children and grandchildren. Good on them!

Expecting Great Things

2009-11-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

Sunday 22 November 2009
It was all go on Sunday 22 November 2009 as people amassed for the big opening of Great Expectations, the first track on Project Rameka.
Happenings commenced at 10 a.m. sharp with some track titivation. Many thanks to Ryan, Martin, Andy, Marie, Richard, (and around the corner out of view) Albie, Fil, Ricky, Corina, Patrick, Brent, James, Bronnie, Simon, and Jonathan.
A special mention must go to Seamus’ dog Harry, who kept a sharp eye on all proceedings and made sure the workers kept their noses to the grindstone. Thanks for sending in the delegation Seamus.

By noon, everyone was feeling peckish. Time for the barbeque! Rough Guide New Zealand author Paul Whitfield brought all his investigative skills to bear and managed to find the project in time to join in with the opening, despite being told by the information centre that he needed to go back to the top of Takaka Hill and travel along to Canaan Downs to find it – “I think”! Not to be deterred (he'd just driven past Canaan as he drove over the hill from Mot), Paul put his bloodhound nose to work and sniffed out the barbeque and the speeches. (Paul stayed on to help with more track tidying in the afternoon before trying out the primo flow of Great Expectations in both directions with Jonathan - Good on ya Paul.)

Thanks to Ricky Ward’s most excellent speech outlining the fundamentals of this brilliant track no more needs to be written about it in this blog – Ricky’s speech says it all, so here is that speech:
Ricky%20Ward%20Project%20Rameka%20speech%20Nov%2009.doc
And what Project Rameka event could be complete without ... chocolate cake!! Thanks Marie, you are the most brilliant star of a cook, we're sure everyone who got to sample the cake would agree.

Ricky and Corina Ward managed to keep four eyes covering all the action at the track opening:

And the track itself? Great Expecations is sweet as a lolly. It flows like a small child down a luge at the water park, or if you prefer, like a diamond ring down the bathroom sink hole - but who are we to say? Come along some time and try it out for yourselves.
Phil Castle and Patrick Ward give it a whirl on Great Expecations:

Date change for Project Rameka track opening.

2009-11-09T11:06:00.000-08:00

There has been a slight change of plans! The new track at Project Rameka, called Great Expectations, will now be opened on Sunday the 22nd of November.

A work party to polish off the track will begin at 10am, followed by a BBQ lunch at 1pm, and then the official opening at 2pm.

Come along and enjoy the celebrations.

Opening of first track at Project Rameka

2009-10-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

A new track, called Great Expectations, will be opened at Project Rameka on Saturday the 21st of November. It is approximately 2.5 km long and provides a single track alternative to the steepest part of the Rameka Road. Come along on Saturday and help polish this great new track into shape, then enjoy a well earned BBQ lunch. The afternoon will consist of taking photos and testing the track.

Great Expectations will be open to walkers, runners and bikers, and is suitable for riding up as well as down.

Please respect that this track is in a carbon sink. Park your car for the day, and enjoy recreating in Project Rameka under human-power.

After track building on Saturday morning, there will be a work party on Sunday to weed around the trees planted in August.

Everyone is welcome, and there are tools available. Hope to see you there - Jonathan and Bronnie.

Ricky Ward at the very bottom of Great Expectations, where it meets Rameka Creek Road. The photo was by Patrick Ward. They had both just finished a session of track building.

Critical Climate Change update

2009-10-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

Critical Climate Change update

Throughout this year Victoria University have been holding a series of href="http://www.victoria.ac.nz/climate-change/events/NZCCRI%20Seminar%20Series.aspx">seminars
on Climate Change. Last night they presented a homegrown world leader on the subject - Dr David Wratt from NIWA.

Dr Wratt is also a lead scientist for IPCC, so I was particularly interested to hear his presentation, as IPCC have been heavily criticised lately for being too conservative in their 2007 scenarios.

Here is his presentation in a nutshell,

1. Global warming since 1900 is absolutely certain. Sea level is rising and snow and ice cover is decreasing.
2. Greenhouse gases have increased from human activity.
3. In 2007, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that there is a 90% probability that human activity is causing the warming.
4. Since 2007, new science has confirmed that:
· Temperatures have been at the upper end of IPCC projections
· global emissions have been at the upper end of IPCC projections
· Antarctica is also warming
· melting of ice sheets is more likely
· ocean acidification from CO2 is more likely
· the emission released now, will cause changes that are irreversible

So where did IPCC go wrong?

Well, it’s not that they were wrong, but just that they really were too conservative.

Lets take sea level for example. Their 2007 projection was for only 18-59cm of sea level rise, BUT that was excluding any ice sheet melting. Now, only two years later, Dr Wratt says 80-100cm is likely, and that some papers are suggesting up to 2 metres.

Furthermore, he believes we are currently on track to get 2-4 degrees temperature rise this century, which will lead to 7 metres sea level rise.

He went on to list all the other major effects of climate change if emissions are not drastically reduced. It was a looooooonnng list of dangerous climatic changes, which, in a typically unemotive scientific egghead way he summarised by saying:

“These findings strengthen the reasons for concern.”

It was like listening to HAL, the computer in 2001 A Space Odyssey.

Thousands of species will become extinct, and people will die in the millions from starvation, drought, floods, etc….
“These findings strengthen the reasons for concern.”

Then he moved on to the targets that are being currently discussed by politicians, which reminded me of Kashi Leuchs and his 350 campaigning (see www.350.org/riders).

It was Dr Wratt’s view that atmospheric concentrations of 350-400 parts per million (that’s where we are now), will inevitably result in 2.0-2.4 degrees warming, and 0.4-1.4m sea level rise, by the year 2100. That would spell D.I.S.A.S.T.E.R. for most developing countries – indeed it will wipe some of our pacific neighbours off the map if we let it happen.

Unfortunately, because CO2 has such a long life, to avoid this disastrous scenario there would have to be emissions reductions in the range of 50-85% by 2050, followed by a downward trajectory to zero emissions.

Is this possible, I wondered? The current National Government has an ETS bill before parliament that only aims for 50% reductions by 2050, and does virtually nothing in the next 5 years to actually reach that target. In other words, they’ll do as little as possible, for as long as possible, so as not to harm the economy.

At this point someone from the audience jumped in and stated the obvious: “WE NEED TO START REDUCING NOW OR WE WON’T MEET OUR TARGETS”.

Dr Wratt, calmly agreed.

Someone else asked “WHAT ABOUT POPULATION?”

Dr Wratt, calmly pointed out that the targets were regardless of population and as the population grows emissions reductions becomes more challenging.

Someone else said “WHAT ABOUT TIPPING POINTS, SUCH AS METHANE FROM MELTING PERMAFROST!”

Dr Wratt calmly replied that such tipping points currently involved too many scientific uncertainties, so IPCC had not factored them into their scenarios.

I left the seminar firmly believing that we are currently committing the biggest humanitarian crime in history. Food, land, life and hope, is being robbed from future generations on a scale that no despot of the past ever achieved.

Action is needed on two levels – political and personal.

Our politicians will not aim for safe reductions in emissions unless we/you ask them to accept the best science available and aim for less than 2 degrees, or as Kashi Leuchs puts it, 350 ppm (check out www.350.org/riders), or as Lucy Lawless puts it 40% by 2020 (check out www.signon.org.nz/).

On a personal level, how can we become informed and have enough vision to see and feel the impacts that will affect those people and places we love? And, more critically (because the environment doesn't respond to what we feel, or think), how can we take action to reduce our personal emissions, starting now?

350 Planting at Rameka

2009-09-04T23:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend saw a flurry of activity at Project Rameka as over 70 people headed up the hill to plant trees. Our aim was to join the global 350 movement (see 350.org) and plant 350 trees a day for three days in a row.

The plan went awry before the first tree was in the ground because of generous last-minute donations of trees. All of a sudden we had 1250 plants!

The first 350 went in on Friday morning with the help of 30 Motupipi Primary School kids, 10 teachers and parents, 10 teenagers from Golden Bay High School, and a few Wellingtonians. Wahoo! What a crazy whirlwind of activity. We were stunned by lunchtime.

Planters ready for 350 trees.

350 Trees going in the ground, with plant guards.

350 trees planted and ready to absorb Co2.

In the afternoon, Phil Castle turned up with a van-load of flaxes, and the Golden Bay High School troopers continued planting, so another 220 plants nestled their way into their new homes.

Patrick, Phil and Jonathan in action.

On Saturday, the planting procession was a little more orderly. 18 determined vollies managed to liberate 500 trees into the carbon sink. Thanks that day to Patrick, Corina, Fill, Albie, Chris, Jeff, Andrew, Simon, Karyn, Brent, James, Marie, Martin, Derry, Paul, Ginny, Bronnie and Jonathan. Matt was there too, roaming the Project for a few nights, shooting anything that might try to eat the lovely new seedlings.

Fill's famous hearty soup and homemade bread. No wonder we planted so many trees.

On Sunday, the forecast was terrible, but Andrew, Ginny, Patrick, Bronnie and Jonathan managed to home the remaining trees before the heavens opened. And what a storm it was! The following day we checked all the plants and fixed any wayward plant guards. Now it's all over to photosynthesis.

Rameka Track Updates

2009-07-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 15 July 2009

Martin Langley from the Quiet Revolution Cycle Shop in Takaka called today to report on progress at Rameka. On Sunday he had been up at Canaan Downs in foul weather, so they bailed out early and headed down the Rameka Track to Project Rameka, with Big Bruce taking their vehicle back to Takaka.

Down in the Project they found the first 1.8km of 'Great Expectations' in good condition. Then they came across Mr Baigent, accompanied by his two dogs on the track. And the Track! Along the 'Cliff' section it was now almost four feet wide!

Rolling on down, Martin passed a lot of his own recent handiwork, as the track now winds out of the pines and down into the scrub for 100 metres. Then it's time to carry your bike. But at least you can walk through now, and this is largely thanks to Ricky and Patrick Ward who have been hard at work, designing and clearing the route right through to the Rameka Creek Road (just a few hundred metres above the ford).

Good going everyone. We can't wait to get over there and check it out. For now though, big thanks to Martin for the up-date. We'll see you in the last week of August for tree planting :-)

Latest science on sea level rise

2009-07-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday I attended the Inaugural Lecture by Professor Tim Naish - Understanding Ice Sheets and Sea-levels

Project Rameka Trustee Simon Johnson suggested I put some lecture notes on this blog as Dr Nick Smith is currently travelling around the country consulting with the public on emissions targest for 2020. He will be in Nelson on Friday the 17th July. Paul Kennett has put further details on http://www.myonlinediary.com/

Professor Naish gave a fascinating lecture to a packed house. Here is a summary of the notes:

Background: In 2001 IPCC said the max expected sea level rise this century would be 0.88m. Then in 2007 IPCC decided to remove all scientific uncertainties and said it would be 0.18 min to max 0.59m (the range is because there are a range of emissions scenarios - note that earlier this year IPCC said global emissions were higher than their highest scenario had projected). This has resulted in a lot of scientific work to remove the uncertainties.

Prof Naish has specialised in sea level rise, and recently managed the Andril Program in Antarctica where four nations collaborated to get the best icecore samples ever (98% readable), and deeper than ever (1000m). The results correlated surprisingly well with scientific work done in other parts of the world.

In summary, 1.0 m sea level rise this century is now the mainstream expectation in the scientific community.
2m by 2100 is possible if there is 'Runaway Retreat" (ie, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet erodes rapidly) and some scientists believe that we are seeing the start of this now.

This rise will not be globally uniform.

If, as some expect, runaway retreat happens then parts of the northern hemisphere (ie Canada and the USA) will have 4m sea level rise by 2200.

He finished by saying that Copenhagen negotiations later this year were critical to determine future pathways. The last time we had 350-400 mil ppm co2 in the atmosphere the world was +3-4 degrees warmer (in 1900 we had 280-290 co2 ppm).

He pointed out that 60 million people now live within 1 m of sea level, and that that will grow to 130 million people this century.

In a nutshell, he didn't want to be scare mongering, but the less that is done, the faster and more severe will be the climate change.

Unfortunately, judging from Dr Nick Smith's address, our government will be using 2007 science at Copenhagen. This underestimates the impacts of climate change.

Professor Naish's final slide was of his two small children.